Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 86 64. James Norris

After dinner, Oliver looked at David, who was walking away happily with a light step, and asked Karl a question:
"Although you said, Karl, that as long as he doesn't think about embezzling the money, the money will be his, but aren't you afraid that this guy will really run away with the money?"

"Ten thousand euros is not a lot of money for us right now. If he is honest, we can just treat it as an investment. But if he really doesn't even intend to do a good job after accepting the money and instead plans to embezzle it and run away..."

Karl recalled the taste of the delicious juice in the luxurious restaurant and continued, "We can find him and give him money, and then we can get rid of him."

"That's true."

Oliver folded his hands and looked at David's back. "But I have a feeling that this guy will do a good job and maybe even do well. Do you think it's because he is also from Saint Domingo, which makes me a little biased towards his hometown?"

"Come on, you are not allowed to go back to your hometown, right? I have to say that the people of Night City are really weird. None of you call yourself a Night City person. You all use the neighborhood as your place of origin. Jack is from Heywood, and you are from Santo Domingo. It's a clear distinction."

"If the names in the city are not distinguished by the neighborhood, then what else can they be distinguished by?"

Jack came over with the bill he had asked the restaurant to issue. "The meal cost 1,200 Euros, which is enough to buy one-tenth of a pig. That guy looked quite skinny, but I didn't expect he could eat so much."

“That’s what people who grow taller do.”

As the person who paid the bill, Carl was naturally well aware of the price of the meal. It had to be said that it was indeed a luxurious meal. Apart from their table, the other guests in the entire restaurant were either corporate dogs of the management or top gang members.

"Then, we have to go back."

When Carl was about to ask Jack and Oliver about their next plans, Blanca's message came to his personal terminal.

Blanca: Are you interested in taking on more private work?
Ok?
How come there is work again?

Carl was happy to take the job, but it was too much.

He hasn't completed the first two jobs he received from Blanca, and now another one has come. Could this Blanca be a receptionist at some task center?

Carl: I'm still processing the task you gave me. But you know the task, it's not particularly urgent, and I have some spare time. What other task do you want me to do? Forget about the long-term ones, but for the short-term ones, I can take them up when I have free time.

If I think about it carefully, it seems that the number of times I have accepted commissions from middlemen is not as many as the number of times I have accepted tasks from Blanca.

But there was nothing that could be done. Blanca was really generous with the money she paid, and the tasks were simple, easy and clear. She could do her commissions much better than that stupid middleman Faraday, who took more than he gave. Carl said he would never accept his commissions again no matter what.

Blanca: It's just a short mission. A retired lieutenant from the New United States Armed Forces, named James Norris, recently came to Night City. I'll tell you the truth. He is from our military technology. He originally came to Night City to help our company do some "small things" as a retired person. Then, for some reason, he suddenly shot and killed the person who contacted us yesterday and ran to the city center.
Carl felt a little strange when he saw Blanca stop sending a message halfway.

Carl: So, you want us to get rid of this traitor with treasonous behavior?
Blanca: No, I want you to monitor him and find out why he did that. If possible, communicate with him and let him return to the mission.

You can ignore the life of the liaison officer by making light of it, right? You are still useful, so you can ignore small mistakes. That's the way the company does it. Carl: What if he doesn't want to go back to do the task and doesn't want to communicate?

Blanca: Even if he's suffering from a cyberpunk psychopath, just get rid of him.

Carl: If there is no communication, then kill him. Is it that simple?
Blanca: Uh-huh.

It was Blanca's commission, and it was indeed easy, simple and clear.

Carl: The people are in the downtown area, right? I can start searching now. Do you have any detailed information? Also, how much is the reward?
Blanca: He has a military-grade countermeasure chip. I don't have any information about his specific hiding place, so you'll have to find it on yourselves. As an apology for the lack of intelligence, I'll give you a little more. What do you think of 150,000 Euros?
Pay more money for lack of information?

Carl: Giving more money, this is not the kind of corporate dog I know.

Blanca: Hmm? Now you're saying it out loud, I thought you were going to cover it up a little.

Carl: You're trying to cover it up. To be honest, you gave me so much, you didn't do that to get me to have a good talk with the lieutenant.

Blanca: How sharp! Why don’t you plan to help me full-time? I just happen to be in need of a capable guy under my command.

Carl: Stop talking nonsense. I have something to say. I don’t know you that well.

Carl knew that for Blanca, the good attitude she revealed in her words was because he could really bring her benefits. If he could not bring her benefits, his fate would not be much better than that of the liaison who was killed and James Norris who was unwilling to communicate.

Listening to Carl's words, Blanca did not show any emotion during the call.

Blanca: Okay, let me explain it clearly. James Norris was equipped with a military-grade Stanvistan that is still in the confidential experimental stage of our company. The person in charge of the experiment has a little conflict with me.

As long as James Norris is confirmed to be a cyberpsychopath, the experiment that the person in charge is in charge of will be declared a failure. Not only will he be executed for wasting company resources, but I can also let my people take over that part of the project.

Carl: It's another office struggle. I really should get used to this.

Blanca: It's the same in the company. If even a tough guy like James Norris can become a cyber-psychopath after installing that prosthesis, it can only mean that the prosthesis is not something that ordinary people can afford, and there is no value in continuing the experiment.
Don't worry, I just need to confirm that James Norris is a cyberpsychopath. I don't plan to recycle the prosthesis with the colors of my predecessor. If you are interested, you can use it. But I have to remind you that it has the super dream recording software and monitoring equipment that all military prostheses have. If there is no military-grade anti-chip, remember to disassemble it.

Carl: I don't have the habit of removing prostheses from other people and using them. The specially prepared prostheses will cause rejection reactions that most people cannot accept. I've accepted this task. Please send me the detailed information.

While waiting for the data to be transmitted, Carl told Jack and Oliver about his communication with Blanca.

Former Lieutenant James Norris, a target worth €150,000.

(End of this chapter)